I figure I’ll end the week on two scenes from the finale of the second year of Scalped (#24), spotlighting Chief Red Crow.

Enjoy!

To set the scene, to finance the building of his casino, Red Crow has gotten into bed with some Asian gangsters, and they’ve sent along one of their men, the absolutely insane Mr. Brass. We first meet Brass when Red Crow meets him in his hotel suite, where Brass introduces himself and asks Red Crow to have someone clean up the mess in his room (the mess being two decapitated people in Brass’ bed).

Red Crow has put up with it all, because he knows he can’t start a war with the Asian gang.

In addition, he has been tasked with taking care of a “soul bundle” in honor of Gina Bad Horse – the idea being that if he takes control of the “soul bundle” and lives a harmonious and pure life for one year, her sould will be safe.

Tom Fitzpatrick

Uh, Indian casinos are regulated by federal and state agencies, you know. I’m pretty sure these agencies check a casino’s investors before letting them proceed. There’s also the tribe’s elected council, which has to oversee and approve any investment deal. And of course the media, which investigates any deal that looks shady.

But hey…all this regulatory stuff is boring. That’s undoubtedly why Aaron didn’t include it in his stories. It’s a lot more cool to show a badass Indian boss making a backroom deal with Hmong gangsters.

Who cares if it makes Indians look corrupt and venal? They’re all a bunch of animals wallowing in their own filth and squalor, right? They’re lucky we let ‘em continue living in our great country, the good ol’ US of A.

Not to rain on your “Hey, I’m the only one that sees how offensive and crappy this series is and you’re all stupid for liking it” parade, but we all know that sometimes all that boring regulatory stuff can be, shall we say, influenced if you’re connected enough and grease the right wheels, and it’s been my impression that Red Crow has a big bucket of the stuff, and knows who/how/where to apply it.

Also, there are non-corrupt and venal characters in SCALPED. Maybe they’re not the main players, but hey, that’s dramatic fiction for ya.

Bill Reed

But hey…all this regulatory stuff is boring. That’s undoubtedly why Aaron didn’t include it in his stories. It’s a lot more cool to show a badass Indian boss making a backroom deal with Hmong gangsters.

Well, no shit, it’s a crime thriller comic! Naturally, a crime thriller comic about Native Americans will include multiple examples of Native American criminals. It doesn’t mean it’s offensively preaching the depravity of the American Indian any more than the existence of both Lex Luthor and Wilson Fisk mean all white guys are 1.) evil and 2.) bald.

ROOSTER

I’m curious, Rob. Do you read any other comics? Watch TV or movies? You’re aware that there’s actually stuff in there that isn’t reality yes? Then why is it so tough for you to comprehend that SCALPED is supposed to be fiction? This might blow your mind, but that dude called Superman doesn’t really exist either. No seriously, he’s a fictional character. People can’t fly, or have bullets bounce of their chest with no injury. Do you feel the need to rip all the super hero comics as inaccurate as well?

FunkyGreenJerusalem

You know what pisses me off?
How everyone loves Frank Miller’s Sin City!
You know why?
Because it makes white people look bad.
Even the good white characters operate outside the law, killing and using hookers – even the elected officials and the heads of the church are shown to be evil.
It’s just disgusting and needs to be stopped!

It’s a lot more cool to show a badass Indian boss making a backroom deal with Hmong gangsters.

Hells yeah it is!
It’s like in an Arnie film – even Kindergarten Cop – they could show him spending weeks gathering evidence making a case, booking a guy, then waiting a few months for prosecution… like we all know they do in real life… Instead, as it’s a film for entertainment purposes, they show him blasting the shit out of people in their hundreds.
It’s a lot more entertaining.
For further reference, see every other action and crime film ever made.

You might have more of a point – you’d still be scraping but we’ll play along – IF, it wasn’t for the fact that Red Crow is the most complex character in the book, often because he seems to be the only one who is self-aware (and not fighting it unlike dash).

That’s my take on Aaron’s take on Indians.

And it makes you look like a moron.

ROOSTER

Hey wait a minute FGJ. Are you saying all white guys aren’t like those in Sin City? Seriously?!? Wow, first it took Rob Schmidt to set me straight on Native Americans, now you with white folks. I wonder how many other comics have warped my views.

FunkyGreenJerusalem

I just wish someone would write a book about this, and then start making noise at government – who are too focused on video games – so that maybe some sort of self-appointed authority gets set up to decide what we can and can’t read… I mean, us poor defenceless comic bok readers who can’t handle concepts such as characterisation and foreshadowing* surely can’t tell that a book about a crime element on a Native American reserve isn’t actually a comment about all Native Americans living on reserves!
(Let alone that it’s a story about people living on the bottom of the bottom, and bad people doing bad things to better themselves but actually making it worse…